Complete coverage of the 85th annual Academy Awards

"The Artist" Rolls On With 12 BAFTA Nominations, "Tinker" & "Hugo" In the Mix

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Following a 3-win night at Sunday's Golden Globes, "The Artist" has racked up 12 BAFTA nominations, more than any other film, and now has all the markings of an awards season juggernaut.

"The Artist," which stars Jean Dujardin as an aging silent-film star and Berenice Bejo as an ingenue of the talkies, is up for Best Film, Director, Screenplay, Actor and Actress, among others. The brilliant thriller "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" came in second with 11 nods, and Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" was third with nine.

We liked "The Artist," but didn't love it. That said, we can't say we're terribly surprised by its popularity with awards bodies. Movie people love movies, and so of course they love movies about movies (See: "Hugo"). Throw in the nostalgia for black-and-white, as well as silent films, stir in a crazy cute dog, Dujardin's rubber face and Bejo's radiant beauty, and a voter is positively helpless.

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